Banished from her home, Fionna O'Donnel is powerless to intervene when mercenary English knight Raymond DeClare is awarded GleannTaise Castle. An outcast among her clan and her gift of enchantment feared, Fionna cannot stand idly by as her people come to harm at the hands of a man whose life she once saved—a man who holds her kin's destiny beneath his sword while offering dangerous temptation with his searing kisses.
Bewitched By Desire
The cost of DeClare's reward for valiant combat is twofold—he must safeguard GleannTaise, and take an Irish bride. Yet he can do neither with Fionna's bewitching presence haunting him at every turn—and he will not accept her faith in magick to restore the castle to its former glory. But as passion burns like a flame between them, the cloak of Fionna's secrets and shame is torn away, and DeClare must choose between the dictates of pride and the love of a woman who has enchanted his heart.
I'll tell you right off that I don't like reading my own bios, let alone writing them. It's like tooting your own horn. But if you're here, then you want to know something about me. So how about I break some ‘writers have a glamorous life' myths first off.
Myth 1: Writers have always been writers. Not me. I was a licensed cosmotologist for years, and didn't even put pen to paper until I was 30. (with an infant and 3 year old) It took me 3 years to write my first book, and while it taught me a lot, it was dreadful ! Got rejected 6 times flat out. I burned it in the back yard when I sold my 20 th book. I've kept the first pages to remind myself of how far I've come.
Myth 2: writers have a staff to take care of them and their homes while they write. I wish! I don't have a maid, a cook, or anyone who works for me, except maybe Shelley, who maintains this site. Like most women out there, I do all the cooking, cleaning, bills, shopping, etc. Sometimes I can be seen driving the riding lawnmower over our 2 acres. That's not a complaint. I'm a Marine's wife, and my husband was gone a lot, so I had to do it. I'm the only female in a house of men, so I pretty much rule too. And as the daughter, wife, and now the mother of US Marines, believe me, I can give orders when need be.
Myth 3. Writers work when the muse hits them. If I did, I'd never meet a deadline. Writing isn't about the muse coming to you; it's about unleashing bottled creativity and giving it freedom on paper. Every writer I know feels a deep internal need to tell their particular story and hope you're entertained. Writers HAVE to write. Yeah, sure, sometimes the creativity isn't moving like we want, but like everyone who faces some problem, I go to my friends and they come through in a punch. By the way, I work at my job from about 7 am till 4, sometimes later if it's going great and I don't want to stop. Weekends are for playing, projects or gardening. I actually love pulling weeds; it makes my mind drift to good places.
Myth 4: Writers get paid oodles of money. Oodles?? If I did, I'd have a staff and a better-looking office. But I get to go to work in the worlds' sloppiest clothes.
Myth 5: Once a writer sells a book, they can sell anything else. Want to see my rejection file? I could wallpaper a bathroom with it. To keep selling is the really hard part of this job. However, my idea of a great story isn't often blending with the editors. It's frustrating and often, it hurts, since the books writers create have, without a doubt, a piece of them inside. But then, if you can't take it, then this isn't the business for you.
My second book (#1 being the dreadful one I burned) My Timeswept Heart was a finalist in the Romance Writers of America, Golden Heart contest for unpublished works. I didn't win, but it got my work before my Kensington editor. It came out in '93 and I've sold over 30 since. With numerous rejections in between.
Right now, I'm writing books I've wanted to write for three years, Romantic Thrillers. Think Peacemaker or Chain Reaction with a little more romance in them. Lots of action and danger. After writing books in 5 sub genres of romance, (I get bored easily) this new one is the chance for me to use all this military knowledge I've stored up for years. I've fired weapons, rappelled, ridden in an Armored Personnel Carrier, and did some Scuba diving in the East China Sea. It hasn't been boring, and because I write, it never will be.
Now that my Sergeant Major husband is retired, and my sons are grown and towering over their mother, we get to stay in one place.
How average. I love it. When I feel the itch to move every 3 years, I just redecorate.
Well, its time for me to get back to work. Thanks for visiting. Take a look around the site, drop me a note, even read the first chapter of a new novel, if you like. It's out there for you, the reader. I wouldn't be loving my job if you weren't
Terrific book. I loved the inclusion of the Old Ways of Ireland, bits of its magical past, and the respect that the author shows it all. Fionna is the daughter of the previous holder of GleannTaise Castle. Ten years earlier, she was banished from her home after falling in love and using her magick in ways that were against the rules. At the same time, a curse fell over the land, causing the earth to wither and a perpetual cloud to cover it.
I ached for Fionna, who loves her people and her home. Because of the banishment, she is an outcast among them, even when she uses her healing abilities to help them. She has a five-year-old daughter, Sinead, who is being raised by friends because Fionna fears what would happen if people knew Sinead was hers. To further complicate matters, the English king gave her home to one of his knights, the very one whose life she saved years earlier. She never forgot him or the feelings he stirred in her.
Raymond is appreciative of his reward from the king, but the headaches it causes are countless. He was ordered to restore the castle and prepare for its defense. He was also commanded to take an Irish bride to cement his position. Marriage is the last thing on his mind while the castle is in disarray, and it is about to move even further down the list.
I loved the first meeting here of Raymond and Fionna. To protect some children from being run down by galloping horses, she used her magick to stop them, causing one rider to fall off. That rider was Raymond, who was furious at what she did. She is equally angry at what she sees as his recklessness and doesn't hold back as she tells him so. It doesn't take long for him to recognize her as the one who saved his life, and also remember her claim of being a witch. Raymond doesn't believe in magick and holds a "witch" responsible for his mother's death. But neither can deny the sparks that fly between them.
I enjoyed the development of the relationship between Fionna and Raymond. It is a stormy one, as Raymond refuses to admit to the reality of what she is, and Fiona will not give herself to someone who will not accept her as she is. Raymond's refusal to believe in magick and the old ways puts him at odds with the people as he rides roughshod over their traditions. Fionna tries to show him the error of his ways, but he refuses to see what is in front of him. I enjoyed their confrontations, even though I frequently wanted to shake him for being so stubborn. I had to laugh when one of his knights arranged for the arrival of a bunch of potential brides, and Raymond found himself hunted from morning until night.
Then the sentence of Fionna's banishment came to an end, and she was able to enter the castle once again. I loved the effect she had on everyone around her, as her natural leadership made a significant difference. It was fun to watch Raymond fight against his feelings for Fionna, while she tried to break through his stubborn refusal to admit the truth. I loved seeing them finally come together and confess to their feelings. I especially loved the side effects of their passion for each other and the reactions of those around them.
However, fate does not make things easy for them. There is someone out there who is wreaking havoc on Raymond's lands, destroying and killing indiscriminately. The tension mounted throughout the book as the attacks increased in frequency and viciousness. Matters come to a head when both Sinead and Fionna are taken by an unforeseen enemy. I was on the edge of my seat as Raymond raced to save them. An exciting twist provided help from an unexpected source. The final confrontation was intense and emotional. The epilogue provided a nice wrap-up for the book.
The secondary characters were as interesting as the main ones. Fionna's daughter, Sinead, tops the list. Even though she is only five, it is evident that she has inherited her mother's abilities. She is sweet and loving, but also mischievous and impulsive, which gets her into frequent trouble. She also wiggled her way into Raymond's heart, and there were some adorable scenes between the two of them. Fionna's cousin Connal is also the son of Raymond's best friend. He comes to Raymond for fostering, anxious to become a squire, then a knight. Connal is big for his age but still young and frustrated by Raymond's refusal to start his training immediately. Connal also finds himself the subject of Sinead's adoration. The last thing a twelve-year-old boy wants is a little girl tagging after him, and their confrontations are highly amusing. Raymond's knights all have their unique places. Alec ended up in hot water because of the whole bride thing, but he was always there to back Raymond up when necessary. Nikolai was an interesting character. A prince of Kiev, but with no homeland any longer, he has a fair amount of pride. I loved his interactions with one of the potential brides and how that worked out for him later.
It wasn't until I was well into this book that I discovered it was the second book in a trilogy. I have already ordered the other two books and can't wait to read them. The first is the story of Fionna's friend Siobhan and the knight that Raymond worked for. There are things referred to in this book that occurred in the first book, so I am anxious to read the backstory. I am especially looking forward to the third book, which is the story of Connal and Sinead and seems to be as wild a story as this one was.
Delightful Story of an Irish Princess Gifted with magic and an English Knight
Set in Ireland’s deep past, this is the story of Fionna O'Donnel, a sorceress from a line of magick women, who was banished from her home in Antrium for ten years because she betrayed her father’s wishes concerning an arranged marriage. Her home, GleannTaise Castle, has been taken over by English knight Sir Raymond DeClare at the English king’s command. All around the castle the land is laid waste under a curse.
Fionna once save DeClare’s life and she knows he holds the key to her people’s destiny, if not her own. Raymond must safeguard GleannTaise and take an Irish bride of noble birth. He is wildly attracted to Fiona and knows nothing of her parentage.
It’s a good story, well-told (albeit with some head hopping that will jar the reader at times). There is treachery, betrayal, the Irish trying to live under English rule and even fairies! I’ve read all three in the trilogy and loved them.
The Irish Trilogy:
The Irish Princess The Irish Enchantress The Irish Knight
I picked this book up at a local thrift store and I am glad I did! Is not your typical historical romance. The heroine, as implied with the title, is a enchantress or a witch! Not just a skilled healer, she actually does magic! She has a child that has also inherited her skills. There is a lot of secrets and mystery and sad history that gets Fionna to where she meets/ re-unites with Raymond. Likable supporting characters that makes you feel their history. The romance was really for almost the whole book about sexual attraction, sexual tension and forbidden attraction. I wasn't even sure how the author was going to get around to making them a romantic in love couple! They of course did finally manage to accept their attraction and the ensuing intimacy was good, romantic but not scrub your eyes out sex scenes! There was some disjointed scenes towards the end and characters introduced that seemed to be from previous stories that reader should be familiar with. It is a ok stand alone story, but I could tell that there had been some previous story that was linked to this one. I'd be interested to see a continuation with Nikolai and Isobel's relationship. I would also read a story with a grown up Sinead!Towards the end it felt like it was the end, all was well, happiness has been attained , the end...nope! Several more chapters with a subplot that I had forgotten about had to take place! More loose ends and more charactes unveiled that I thought I should have known about! Probably in previous installment! All in all I enjoyed this with its history and interesting flair of magic, fairies and love conquers all. I wanted to keep reading to see how it ended, good mix of romance and fights between good and evil.
Although this was a fun read overall, I wasn't entirely convinced by parts of the storyline, including the love story that develops between the two main characters, who don't particularly like each other at the start of the story. I also found that there were a few too many unexpected revelations right at the end of the book, which I therefore found difficult to believe. But it was nevertheless a fun read ideal for a bit of escapism.
3.5 stars If you love enemies to lovers then you'll enjoy this one. The pacing in this one was the same as the first, slow and then to fast. Trigger Warnings: death parent, whipping, murder, dead bodies, blood, violence, and kidnapping
Raymond has never believed in fairies or magic or witches and despite being Lord to a small Irish village, he’s stayed true to his rationality. All around him his people talk of a curse that hangs over the land, or a beautiful witch who may have caused it and Raymond casts it all aside in favour of good English reason. It’s a struggle enough to feed the people, he doesn’t have time or energy to listen to nonsense like curses. He doesn’t have time to deal with a troublesome woman who believes herself a witch either but something about her just enthralls him while at the same time enrages him.
Fionna has spent almost a decade and a day in exile, as is her punishment for loving the wrong man and in turn, betraying her people. A decade and a day out in the cold, forbidden to enter the castle, forbidden to speak with her countryman in fear of them getting punished. She doesn’t deny her fault in her banishment but she eagerly awaits the day that she can openly claim her daughter as her own.
Fionna and Raymond bicker and banter like cats and dogs anytime they come within 10 feet of each other. Fionna is a hardened woman who has built up walls to protect herself from more heartbreak. Yet still she eagerly offers her healing abilities to anyone who asks, and anyone who doesn’t. Both countryman and English alike. Despite Raymond ire. She knows he doesn’t believe in the magic surrounding him and that’s a source of animosity between them.
Yet that sexual tension is there. Ever present in all of their fighting and arguing. And soon it becomes apparent that along the way, they became less enemies and more friends. Even soul mates. I very much enjoyed this book and it was easy to see why. This author grabbed my attention from the jump with her ability to paint a scene in my mind so that at times it felt like I was watching a movie. Fionna and Raymond had great characterization and even better chemistry. Not really enemies but bickering friends, I loved the sexual tension and arguments between these characters. It was very believable.
This was a great book. Although the first book in the series fell a little to the long side, although very good, this book fixed that problem. The faster pace of this book was great. The romance was wonderful, at times bringing tears to my eyes as the hero and heroine (who you met in the first book) helped each other heal and fell in love. It was at times funny, exciting, sweet. Great book.